The small town of Valley Springs, Calif., is reeling after authorities made an arrest in the killing of 8-year-old Leila Fowler: her 12-year-old brother, who previously said a man broke into their house and killed his sister. NBC's Amna Nawaz reports.

His sister, Leila Fowler, was found in their Valley Springs home in Northern California on April 27 with knife wounds.

The brother, who reported the stabbing to police, told investigators that he had scared off a long-haired intruder.

The boy’s attorney, Mark Reichel, told KCRA Tuesday that the boy may have lied about the intruder, making up a "macho" story, but that didn’t mean he was a killer.